New Generation Thinkers 2023 Opens to Applications
In partnership with the BBC, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is seeking applications for the the next New Generation Thinkers.
New Generation Thinkers was launched in November 2010 at Radio 3’s Free Thinking Festival of Ideas. The programme is specifically designed to provide a platform for the cultivation of communication skills among early career researchers, so as to better convey university research findings and scholarly ideas to those outside the academic community.
Since its launch, hundreds of academics have attended the New Generation Thinkers workshops and developed their programme ideas, with the ten most successful participants each year appointed as New Generation Thinkers.
A series of dedicated workshops will give up to 60 researchers the opportunity to develop and hone their programme-making skills. Experienced BBC producers will provide guidance and support, lending perspective on how they commission, produce and present both Radio and TV. Following the workshop process, delegates will take part in interactive and practise sessions to showcase their programme ideas and demonstrate their ability to communicate with the listening audience.
The ten most promising candidates will become New Generation Thinkers, which includes working with BBC Radio 3 and benefiting from a unique opportunity to develop their own programmes for the station and a chance to regularly appear on air. The AHRC also provides media training for Thinkers, and offers the possibility of working with BBC TV, speaking opportunities, involvement with the AHRC-funded Being Human Festival and more.
The scheme is open to all early career researchers based in a UK Research Organisation, who are:
- Current PhD Students, or
- Within eight years of the award of a PhD, or
- Within six years of a first academic appointment.
Anyone who has applied in previous years is free to apply again, with the exception of the previously selected researchers who became the final ten New Generation Thinkers.
Applications from researchers working in all areas of the arts and humanities are welcomed, along with applications from researchers working in all academic disciplines whose work fuses with arts and humanities research.
The deadline for submissions is the 22 September 2022.